Love of War
by EllaRizzz
Summary: Her last words to me still echoed through my mind, as fresh as if it were just this morning "Beyond the ideas of right doings and wrong doings there is a field", she whispered "and I shall meet you there." Her smile was emblazoned in my memory and her eyes will forever haunt me. our worlds were completely different. Maybe love doesn't conquer all.
1. vivid blues

Darien rubbed his eyes tiredly and stared at the unconscious prisoner. He had been interrogating the rebel for hours and yet had to break the man and get him talking. Darien had to give it to him though, the man's body had given way as he lay bleeding and bruised on the cold stone floor, but his resolve remained unshaken.

Darien sighed as he walked out of the prison cell and instructed his subordinates to take the man to the local hospital for medical attention. He watched his men carry the man away before he turned toward his room for some much needed rest.

Darien walked into his room and slammed the door shut with unconcealed rage. He had not signed up for this.

Moving further into his small room, Darien sat down on his bed and sighed, a hand coming up to rub his weary face and his eyes closed. His body exhausted, but his mind still as active as ever.

After all he had seen in his 24 years of life Darien seldom slept well, if he slept at all. Whenever he tried to sleep his unrelenting mind would replay all the mangled bodies and death he had seen, all the men he had tortured or shot, the fearful screams of innocent women and children he had heard.

Darien's eyes flew back open. The only reprieve he had was in the knowledge that he had killed bad men. Of course that wouldn't help with the memories though, years of memories that were still as fresh as a new wound.

Often he wondered why was he even here, or how did he get here. He was the eldest son of a wealthy man, surely he was blessed with a comfortable home and a wonderful family. If only that were true. Another volume of unwanted memories flooded his mind and Darien closed his eyes against the new wave of torment.

Darien remembered his father hit his mother ever since he was 10. He would gather his sisters Amy and Mina, who were 6 at the time and together hide in the closet.

His mother would later hide the bruises from them and make up excuses for their father's behaviour.

An unhealthy childhood made Darien grow up before his years, by the time he was 16 he was an introvert and very aggressive. His only friend was Raye Storm, daughter of his father's friend and it didn't take long for him to fall in love with her.

By the time he turned 18 he proposed to Raye and she accepted, for once in his life Darien was truly happy. But that wouldn't last too long. Darien realized that his father had already decided his entire life for him, right from which college he would go to, till his office in his father's company, that was when, after a huge fight with his father and a huge act of rebellion Darien had signed up for the military.

That would have been a simple task, if Darien hadn't been such a natural at military training. He had to admit that his aggression helped alot. He even passed his written tests with flying colors. He was noticed by his superiors and before Darien knew it he had agreed and trained to be a special op and spy for the Government of the United States.

Darien opened his eyes again and let out a frustrated breathe. For the life of him he couldn't get his mind to just stop thinking!

He pulled out his wallet and opened the last letter he had received from Raye. He hadn't seen her in several months now. Sometimes he still wondered how she managed to love him besides all his absence in her life. She was the only good thing in his life right now. He smiled. His first genuine smile in weeks.

Closing his wallet, Darien stood up, deciding he needed some fresh air.

Darien got out of the building that was their makeshift headquarters and into the cold pre morning air. He nodded at the guards at the gates before jumping into his jeep and turning the ignition. Within minutes Darien had reached the Shrine and waited at a distance, facing the east.

This is what he did every now and then when his mind needed some peace.

He pulled up the collar of his thick coat to protect his neck from the cold pre morning breeze and waited for the sun to rise.

Soon enough the sky began to lighten, announcing the arrival of the sun. When it started to peak throigh the horizon behind the dome made of pure gold, Darien watched in awe as the dome seemed to come to life, as it too started to reflect the morning light.

This had been the only thing Darien looked forward to in his days in Iraq. He had been stationed here for the next 2 years at the least, with a small chance of getting back home for holidays.

Contrary to his bad family life, he did like going home to his mother, sisters and Raye. He missed the women in his life very much. He remembered the last time he saw them, they had all insisted coming to the airport to drop him but, he has firmly disagreed. He remembered their watery goodbyes and hugs. He remembered the last kiss he shared with Raye.

He heard the call for morning prayers and myriads of men, women and children started filing into the Shrine for their prayers.

Pulled forth from his world of memories Darien watched as 100's of women wearing identical black robes over their normal ensemble walk by him oblivious to his inner turmoil.

He watched with unseeing eyes as only their faces were visible from below their veils and he had to agree even then several of them were so gorgeous, with beautiful, pearly white complexions, dark contrasting eyes and soft honeyed lips. Their skins protected from the hot and cold unrelenting Iraqi weather by their long bellowing robes.

All of a sudden a flash of blue pulled him out of his reverie and Darien's eyes quickly searched the milling crowd of women for the source of that blue. It took him a few minutes but he found it.

A small figure watched him from the pavement across from him. He took in the garb that was unlike the rest of the women around them. She wore a translucent veil with opaque black lilies embroidered on it with silver thread, the veil hung from her head to her feet, hiding her small form from him. A black scarf covered her head below her veil and sharply contrasted with her pale white skin. Her lips were full and luscious pink and held an amused smile. But her eyes were the objects that held him captive as they bore in his soul. Sharp and vivid blue orbs, that stood out even from the distance they stood at. Orbs that were bright and full of mirth.

His gaze was held prisoner to their beauty and he found himself unable to look away. He didn't know how long he sat there staring, unable to blink for fear that she would vanish.

Suddenly a loud voice tore through his thoughts and the girl turned her head almost simultaneously to the sound.

Darien watched intrigued as he noticed how the sunlight fell on her face and gave her the impression of an ethereal being and her eyes appeared almost golden.

The girl quickly hurried away toward the direction the voice had come from and Darien followed her with his eyes, as she walked upto a lady that appeared to be her mother and soon disappeared into crowds of prayer goers.

Darien realized that the woman had been calling out to the girl.'What was it that that the lady had called her?'

He frowned in concentration to remember the name the woman had beckoned the girl by. He dug deep into his subsonscious brain to retrieve the name he had heard till he found it.

He sat up straight in his seat and turned the key in the ignition, ready to leave.

"Sarina." He whispered and smiled softly, before putting the car in gear and leaving.


	2. What you seek

It had been been 2 months since that fateful day and strangely, he yet had to forget those vivid, blue eyes.

Darien was surprised at how much a single glance at someone could haunt you. He still saw the petite girl, staring at him from across the street as if it were just yesterday. He felt like her image had been seared into his memory.

His days were still the torturous monotony of finding rebels, interrogating them, locating hideouts, gathering intelligence and minimalizing human casualties.

Contrary to his job description Darien, was a peaceful man, but in due time he had realized sometimes to attain greater peace one had to endure a good measure of violence. It was irony at its best.

Someone had to do the job right. Someone had to get down into that gutter and clean up the scum. Metaphorically speaking.

But amongst the doldrum of life, Darien found himself going up to the Shrine more often than he had in the past. By often he meant everyday. He would reach right before the sunrise, braving the cold winds of a desert winter. It wasn't the warm sunrise he was looking for anymore, it was what the sunrise brought forth.

Initially too coy to accept it himself, but Darien had later reluctantly agreed to his conscience that it was actually 'her' he came to see.

He knew he couldn't walk up and speak to her, or think about making up some sort friendship with her. But even still he wanted to go, even if all he could do was see HER from afar.

Yes he sounded like a horny teenager, or worst still a sociopath stalker, but there was a pull he couldn't deny.

But of course it was not meant to be and as Darien frowned and pointedly ignored the odd looks he received for his obvious disappoint at thin air, he slowly reversed his car and left the precinct of the Shrine.

As soon as he entered the worn down residential building they used as their headquarters,Darien noticed a shift in the atmosphere. He noticed the apprehensive looks he got from his colleagues and a knowing nod from one sent him straight upstairs to the common room.

On opening the door he was greeted with the sight of the tall frame of General George Marsh, standing hunched over a large map. His strong arms resting on either side of the map, supporting his frame. His eyes squinting in concentration.

For a man in his 50s, The General was in extremely good shape. He currently wore grey slacks and a crisp white shirt and yet looked every bit of a soldier he was. He was a man with keen black eyes and his hair had only slightly whitened on the sides. His posture was as straight as a plank and his nose as pointed as an arrow.

Darien wagered even at his age he would give Darien a good run for his money in physical combat.

The General looked up when he heard the door open and beamed as he saw Darien enter the room.

Darien quickly walked up to the older man and saluted him. Receiving an amused smile back in return.

"Cut the theatrics, Shields. There is no need for formality here, it is just you and I."

Darien gave a small smile of his own.

"You called on me, sir?"

"Ah, yes." The other man replied and paused, as if in thought about how to frame his words.

"It seems we need you to go undercover, Shields."

A little surprised Darien silently listened to the General, urging him to elaborate with his silence.

"There has been some intelligence that a group of terrorists are pretending to be teachers to a small school in Mosul and could be planning several potential blasts. Infact if our sources are not wrong, these people are not even of Iraqi origin. The epicentre of their plans will be Mosul, but their plans also involve terrorism throughout the world."

Without a second thought of the implications if he failed this mission, Darien agreed to do it. He had been trained for these types of situations by the finest in the business and one of them stood right across the table from him.

"What is expected of me, sir." He asked getting right to the point.

"You will be taking up the role of an American volunteer at the school, you will teach the children Math. This will keep you close to the school and you will be able to look around for any odd behavior. You will try to become friends with the teachers and staff and divulge as information much as you can. You will report to me directly on a fortnightly basis."

Darien nodded his head.

"Will that be all, sir.?" Darien asked.

"Yes." His superior sighed.

As Darien turned to open the door and leave, The General stopped him.

"One more thing, Shields..." Darien turned to look at his commanding officer. " This mission is extremely high priority, do whatever it takes to get down to the bottom of it all, leave no stone unturned. You leave immediately"

Turning around fully to face his General Darien saluted him and gave a well practiced, "Yes, Sir" before he left.

"Godspeed, son." The man softly bade Darien goodbye.

Darien was packed and ready to go in 15 minutes. He didn't have many possessions to even begin with. What he held dear was already in his wallet and with that he set off.

The file and the papers for his new identity were given to him on the drive to the bus stand.

He received a new passport with the name Darien Hampton. He was a glob trotter and worked for the UNO. The General had even organized papers validating his unwavering devotion to humanitarian work around the world.

Darien grimaced at the papers. He was supposed to report to the general directly and had been given a detailed profile and map of the school and the locality. He had been given a small profile of the teachers that worked at the school and his new address that was a 5 minute walk from the school.

Being gifted with an eidetic memory it only took a scan for Darien to memorize everything and burn the papers up to cover the evidence.

Darien reached the bus stand at 2 in the afternoon and boarded the first bus to Mosul that was a 7 hour drive from Najaf. Exhaustion from the past few days finally took over him and he finally fell into a fitful sleep, waking up only when the bus lurched to a halt in Mosul at 10 pm.

He got off the bus and found himself a taxi and gave the driver his new address in fluent Arabic. Once the shock of his linguistic skills wore off the cabby, he drove Darien to his destination.

On reaching his temporary residence from now on, Darien noticed it was a spacious 2 storeyed house, made of the standard mud bricks used all over the country. Unlocking the house he found a warm meal of chickpea soup and bread awaiting him.

It was the first good surprise he had received in ages.

He finished his meal in 2 minutes flat and explored the new house. He found his new bedroom and was surprised yet again. It was spacious and airy, with a wooden work desk, a couch, tv and closet. Small chandeliers hung off the walls illuminating the room in a cozy light and a single candlestand stood on a chest against the wall. After months of sleeping in a dingy dungeon, he was now looking at a homely, small, but soft looking bed,with clean covers and a luxurious woollen blanket.

He immediately felt sleep cast a spell over him, as the bed beckoned him to come fall into a dreamless sleep of nothingness.

Taking off his shoes and stripping down to his boxers, Darien did just that.

Morning came much too soon and Darien's eyes opened warily to his new environment. It took him a few seconds to recognize his new surroundings and he slowly roused from his bed and got ready for the long day ahead.

Coming down he met his housekeeper. A scrawny and short man, with a kind and motherly smile, named Bilal.

Breakfast of black tea, cream and fresh bread was already sitting ready for him at the table and Darien heartily gorged it down, before he stood and put on his thick leather jacket to brave the cold morning air outside.

As he approached the school he observed the 2 storey building carefully. He looked around the large compound it sat in the middle of and another small, one storey building on its right.

Darien walked into the compound and looked around. Most of the area was plane barren land, with a few trees here and there. There was a rough looking basketball court, with only a basket implying that it was a basketball court. Several benches and tables were spread on one side of the court serving as a cafeteria perhaps.

He read the board placed right above the main entrance of the school.

'Bashiri junior high and high school, for girls.' This was it. He had made it to the right school.

He walked into the building and asked a tall, lanky man, who also looked like a teacher, for the direction of the principle 's office.

The man watched him with open scrutiny, but directed him anyway.

On reaching the said man's office, Darien read the name plate on the door.

'Jameel Bashiri'

Figures, Darien thought wryly. He could hear a hushed but agitated argument going on inside the room, but he couldnt quite make out what they were saying. Not waiting for the argument to end,Darien knocked.

He heard a muffled come in and he didn't hesitate a second before he entered.

Inside he noticed a short and stout man, sitting on a long table, facing toward the door. He looked about 50 in age and had round glasses, that sat at the tip of his pointy nose.

The other occupant being a petite girl with her back to him. She wore a turquoise scarf and dark blue jacket, that ended on her knees and black trousers. The way her shoulders rose and fell, Darien knew she was huffing in anger. She stood with her palms resting flat on the desk and apparently making a point.

After a minute of a stare off, it seemed Mr Bashiri had been brow beaten by the girl and quickly acknowledged Darien as a much welcome distraction.

"Mr. Hampton. We have been expecting you!" The man exclaimed with joy.

Darien deduced that joy came more from escaping the current situation rather than his arrival.

"Salaam." Darien greeted with a warm smile. His first warm smile in a while.

"Walaykum salaam." The man said delightfully. "How was your journey here? Not much trouble, I hope!"

"Nothing I am not used to." Darien shrugged.

The man kept ignoring the third occupant in the room and making small talk with Darien, as though if he ignored the girl long enough she would vanish.

Darien knew immediately he would like this man.

"Of course Mr Hampton...

"Just Darien..." Darien smiled at the man.

The man beamed back. "Of course Darien.  
" He corrected himself, his strong arabic accent making his name sound odd to Darien's ears. "You will need a tour and help with getting used to your time table here."

Darien nodded.

"Well my niece here will be more than happy to help you, won't you she?" He looked at the girl again, her back still to Darien.

He noticed how it stiffened and she slowly began to turn toward him.

"Mr. Hampton...sorry Darien, this is my niece and she will be glad to help you and show you around." The next part of the man's statement, or better described as plea was referred toward the girl."Won't you be Sarina?"

At the mention of the familiar name Darien's hurt began to thump against his ribcage painfully. He watched the girl slowly turn around and met the very same sky blue eyes he had been searching for a long time. And here they were. Staring right back at him, their mysterious depths made him feel exposed.

At that moment Darien made a soulful realization.

'What you are seeking is seeking you.'


	3. Salam

Hie everyone ok I keep forgetting to give an author' note. Anyway this is just one concept I love and I hope you love it too. Please do review if u guys feel you like it or I am missing out on something cause I definitely feel there is something off aboutmy story.

Lots of love

Ella.

Ps I don't own sailormoon or any of its characters.

Darien watched as she turned around and with a look much like the one he probably held in his eyes, he saw recognition.

So she has recognize him, he didn't understand why that was a relief, but it was. He didn't feel like a complete fool anymore.

Sarina was the first to recover from the initial shock and Darien almost didn't hear her when she spoke.

"Salam." She told him, not breaking eye contact even once. A small smile tugged at her lips

"Walaykum Salam." Darien's cheeks blushed ever so slightly. Why was he blushing! He asked himself

"Go on now, Pari, Darien here, is our esteemed guest, he has come all the way from America to teach our girls Maths. Show him around." Mr. Bashiri went on excitedly, completely oblivious to everything that transpired between the two other occupants.

Sarina raised a delicate brow at 'esteemed guest' although her expression never faltered.

"Come." She walked forward towards him and stood patiently for Darien to move out the door.

It took a second for Darien to realize he was still standing at the door, blocking it.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat and stepped aside, waving his hand in a graceful gesture for her to lead the way.

Following the gesture of his hand with her eyes, Sarina walked out the door with Darien easily came in to stride beside her.

She showed him around the school, pointing at several different classes and rooms.

Darien was surprised to realize she spoke English pretty fluently, although she had a strong arabic accent to it. He noticed how she couldn't pronounce several words like 'd'and said 'dh', she always made 'p' into 'b' and her 'r' was very prominent.

"So..." Sarina said slowly, breaking through Darien's thoughts. "You American?"

"Yes." Darien nodded, smiling softly. He turned his head to see her looking up at him again.

"Yes?" He asked her, watching as several questions brimmed just behind her eyes.

She seemed to wait and choose which question to ask him before she spoke again.

"Girlfriend?" She asked him.

Darien's eyes widened slightly at being caught off guard with the question. Serena had the grace to giggle and blush. Of all the questions should could have chosen she chose this one!

His mind went back to Raye. Beautiful Raye. Suddeny he remembered her last letter to him, how she waited abd prayed for his return. He remembered how she would be patient with him through all his temperamental days. The understanding she always held in her eyes even after Darien never shared his feelings with her. Guilt washed over him at the thought of her. He hadn't thought about her in a longtime. The woman who had loved him unconditionally, waited and trusted for him implicitly, he had forgotten about her. She didn't deserve that. He was a man already in love with a wonderful woman. So why was he being a fool here. He was here for a job, that he had to do under any circumstance.

"No." He almost blurted it out, but recovered quickly. "You?" He asked, hoping she hadn't noticed his reaction.

"Me!" Her laugh sounded like silver bells. She blushed profusely. "No!"

Darien let out a breathe he hadn't known he had been holding. Quickly masking his features into indifference. He listened to her tell him small anecdotes about teachers at the school and odd habits they had.

He smiled politely finding her flamboyance endearing, as they walked around the school, she took him into the school office and got him his class schedule and showed him around the school grounds. She informed him that he could get any stationary he needed from a local stationer in town. She didn't notice the reprimanding looks the teachers gave her for her friendly banter and giggling with the new American teacher.

She stopped at a door and pointed it out as his new office and bade him goodbye for now.

Darien watched her walk away and sighed, shaking his head, he entered his new office. This was going to be the most difficult mission of them all.

Sarina's pov

What a strange coincidence she thought. She had recognized him right away as the man she had seen at the Shrine.

Sarina had first laid eyes on him as the sun had just begun to rise. The man had sat in his jeep, staring with unseeing eyes at the Dome of the Shrine as the sun rose. He looked melancholic. He looked lost. He was present here, but she knew his mind was a million miles away.

That was just partly the reason she was looking at him though. He was truly beautiful. His hair black as the night, fell absently into his eyes. His frame powerful and his posture rigid, like a soldier. His eyes the colour of sapphires as they sparkled in the rising morning light.

But alas, Sarina thought wryly, he was much more attractive up close and she already had the slightest crush on him.

As they had walked through the school, Sarina couldn't help but look up and admire him. He listened to her attentively and smiled at her politely as she spoke. But his quiet nature made him feel somehow dangerous and infinitely enigmatic. His disposition restrained.

Sighing, Sarina reached her uncle's office again, ready to parade him over the funding for the renovation of the older school building.

Before entering the office a sudden thought passed Serena's head and she smiled, it seemed, she contemplated wryly, several girls at Bashiri junior and high school were about to fall in love with mathematics class.

Darien pov

School had already ended at 2 am and after doing nothing but figuring out the syllabus and preparing various lessons for the classes he would start teaching the next day, Darien called it a day.

Looking at his watch he realised it was already well passed 4 in the evening and he hadn't even gotten lunch yet. Darien made sure everything was in place before he left the office for the day and locked up.

The school was already deserted and the street outside the school was busy as ever. He was about to walk out the school,when he suddenly heard a door slam shut. Turning in the direction of the sound Darien tip toed towards its source.

Stealthily he checked all the rooms in the corridor and found them empty. He heard the sound of shuffling again and this time pin pointed the door from which he heard the sound.

Quietly he entered the room and did not realize he was in the girl's bathroom till it was too late.

Darien stood rooted to his spot, hidden behind the small partition separating the bathrooms and the changing room.

He saw a familiar scarf lying amongst discarded clothes. It looked completely drenched from his point of view from behind the wall. The light turquoise had now turned into a deep shade of teal.

Suddenly he heard a door unlock and he stood frozen in horror as Sarina walked out of the cubicle, completely unaware of his presence. He almost gasped at the vision she was, with wet, tumbling, golden curls falling down her bare back as she walked towards her discarded clothes. When she turned Darien's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He had a full view of her pearly mounds exposed above her neck of her light pink bra! Her chest slowly rose and fell as she breathed and Darien was mesmerised by the way her breasts moved with that simple motion.

What he would have done to walk upto her then and just place his hands on her warm chest, to feel her steady heartbeat below his palm.

His eyes fell to her flat tummy and tiny waist. He almost groaned. Automatically imagining his hands spanning the petite flesh. He felt his pants constrict.

Abruptly she turned around and walked into the cubicle with her top in tow.

The spell that had rooted him to the spot broke and Darien bolted out of the bathroom as fast as he could.

He ran straight out of the school, stopping only at the gate. He stood there panting, trying to will some sort of control over his runaway emotions.

Ok so maybe the fact that he had been lonely for such a long time had started to get to him, physically. Yeah, that made sense. He would accept that.

Darien did not leave though he waited at the gate till the a small figure finally emerged from the school half an hour later.

"Oh Mr. Hampton..."

"Darien." He corrected abruptly.

"Darien..."She tried the feel of his name on her tongue.

Darien swallowed hard.

"What are you still doing here?" She finished.

"I was just understanding the new syllabus and setting up lessons, I just got done." He lied smoothly.

" How are you still here?" Darien asked her.

"Ohhh " She huffed. "The girls in detention put a bucket of water above my office door."

Darien chuckled lightly at her little show of annoyance and Sarina gave him a playfully scathing look. A sudden image of her in her bra flashed passed his eyes, making him almost choke.

She enjoy the rich sound of his laughter.

"Guess I'll be staying back for more detentions now." She laughed.

"Can I drop you somewhere?" He suddenly blurted, wondering if he was coming on too strong.

"Oh no, you don't have to take the trouble. I live quite a distance from here." She smiled.

"Not really." He shrugged.

"Alright." She agreed, happy to be in his company again.

Darien watched as his current home passed by them. They walked through a labyrinth of small lanes milling with evening shoppers. He observed several hawkers selling various items right from sweet and edible treats, to scarves and even books! Looking around and taking in his new surroundings for the next year or so.

"So..." Darien asked breaking the comfortable silence that had befallen them.

She looked up at his handsome face, anticipating his question.

And again a picture of her in her soft pink lacy lingerie flashed into his mind and Darien had to take a second to clear his throat before speaking.

"What do you teach?" He asked her.

"Literature."

"Oh"

"Where did you learn such fluent English?"

"From my mother. She was Iraqi, but had lived in England before she moved back here." She replied wistfully.

Looking at the odd look Darien gave her for her tone.

"Had..." He said warily.

"My mother is no more."

"Oh. I am sorry for your loss." He said, a little taken aback. " What does your father do?"

"He too is gone. I live with my paternal uncle and his family."

" I am so sorry." Darien said awkwardly, realising he was asking all the wrong questions.

She looked straight ahead as they spoke, a sad smile curving her lips.

"Don't be. It has been a longtime since their demise, the wounds have healed, just the scars remain." She finished.

"I see." Was all Darien could say to her little speech.

"I have an elder brother though, Hanni." She almost immediately smiled lovingly at the mention of his name.

"How old is he?" Darien asked, trying to secretly figure out her age.

"He turned 24 this February." She said beaming. "So how old are you?"

"The same." Darien replied.

"Are you always like this?" She asked him.

"What do you mean?" Darien asked confused.

"You know,...a man of a few words." Sarina thought over the statement in her head, before she said it out loud.

She blushed when she heard his rich chuckle and turned to look up at him. He was looking down at her with those thunderous orbs of his, Sarina felt drawn into the enigma he was.

"I am afraid so." He replied, amused by her question.

Sarina was jolted out of her thoughts and blushed even deeper.

"Are you alright? Your turning pretty red!" Darien's concerned voice filled her heart with warmth and more importantly with more embarrassment. If it were even possible, Sarina blushed even deeper.

"No I am fine, just tired maybe, it's been a long day." She stuttered. She realized with dismay they had reached her house.

"Alright." He let it pass.

Sarina came to a halt in front of big 2 storeyed house, one that was twice as big as the one he was staying at.

"This is it." She told him, waving her hand in a wide arc in a gesture toward the house.

"Oh ok then..." Darien said reluctant to go. "I'll be going then, goodnight, Sarina." Darien inclined his head in a polite

She gave him a grateful smile and waved.

"Goodnight and thank you."

Sarina watched his retreating back. He stood out well in a crowd with his tall and broad frame. His steps were long and confident and drew admiral attention drom several women he passed. She waited till he turned a corner and disappeared from her sight, before she too turned and headed into the warmth of her house.

Unbeknownst to both of them a dark figure had been watching their interaction from the late evening shadows that covered the street.


End file.
